A hoax is an act of deception which is designed to trick people into believing or doing something. Many are designed as lighthearted practical jokes, although have a more serious purpose, and are intended to raise awareness about an issue or to get a community actively involved in something. These uses contrast hoaxes from cons, acts of deception which are perpetrated for financial or personal gain. Many people point out that cons are often harmful, while hoaxes are embarrassing but usually cause no permanent damage.

There are a number of types of hoax, and some involve coordinated effort on the part of people and organizations. For example, one might involve an object which is supposed to do something astounding, and does, when demonstrated by the person perpetrating the deception. In the modern era, a hoax can be sent in an email; many email hoaxes contain images which are purported to be real but are in fact heavily modified. Typically, once a hoax has been accepted, the people behind the trick unveil the truth.

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A traditional time for hoaxing in many countries is the first day of April, also known as April Fools' Day. Practical jokes often abound on this day, and in some regions, governments and news media can get into the fun. The BBC, for example, aired a riveting story in 1957 about the Swiss spaghetti harvest. Hoaxes are also included in graduation festivities at some colleges, with fun-loving graduates playing pranks on each other and the surrounding community.

Some famous events in history such as the moon landing have been called hoaxes by conspiracy theorists, despite ample evidence to the contrary. For example, a government could trick its populace into believing that a war was necessary, or a deception which was designed to raise awareness about a social issue could go too far. Some journalistic hoaxes have also been quite harmful, undermining the reputation of specific newspapers and the journalistic profession in general.

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JackWhackPost 10

I have received hoax emails containing coupons for major chain stores before. I have never used an online coupon in my life, so I was afraid to try these.

I'm glad that I didn't, because I heard a short time later that the emails were a hoax. I have no idea what the person sending the fake coupons could have possibly gained from this, but there were many customers who showed up at these stores believing that they were about to get a deal and going home disappointed.

Everyone in my community has come to expect our local newspaper to print hoaxes all over the front page on April 1. I don't know anyone who believes these hoaxes, even for a minute.

The paper knows it isn't fooling anyone, and the whole thing is sort of tongue in cheek now. They do it because they are expected to, and they still find it kind of fun, but it has lost the thrill of possibly sending people into a panic.

@cmsmith10- Another hoax that I thought of was the alien autopsy footage. I can’t even remember what year it was. I’m pretty sure it was in the 90s. There was footage showing a supposed alien body on a table with an autopsy being performed. It received a ton of media attention.

In 2006, Ray Santilli admitted that his footage was a fake. Well, partially a fake. He said that it was actually a reconstruction of a real alien autopsy. Who knows?

@cmsmith10- One popular hoax that comes to mind is the “circles in the corn”. This happened in the 1970’s in England. Circles were pressed into cornfields in this rural area for no apparent reason. This went on for several years. At first, the circles were just simple designs. After a while, the circle patterns became more complex. The most familiar pattern was the large circle in the middle of a square consisting of four small circles.

There were many proposed explanations. Some thought that aliens were landing in cornfields. Others speculated ball lightning. The crop-circling event started to spread all over the world. In 1991, the truth was finally told. Two men, Dave Chorley and Doug Bower, admitted to making the crop circles for over 15 years.

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